As far as I know this technique is a combination of various (and well known) Qi Gong breathing, massage and meditation procedures aimed at healing difficult diseases such as cancer, heart disorders and others. I don't think there are any not-familiar Qi Gong practices in this form but unfortunately I don't have direct experience with this technique. ================= A.A. do you have any knowledge about this technique?

The web seems to be full of aggressive advertising for courses, tapes and books on Spring Forrest Qigong that seems to be marketed by a company called Learning Strategies Corporation. I am personally attracted to a milder less commercialized presentation of these wonderful empowering exercises. Qigong is Qigong, called it what you want or dress it up as you like ...Spring Forrest or otherwise. For that matter, when understood correctly and approached in the "Qigong Mindset" any natural physical movement can be termed Qigong and turned into an exercise.

I would recommend books and cassettes by Kenneth S. Cohen (The Way of Qigong) or Roger Jahnke (The Healing Promise of Qi) and of course there is nothing so good when starting out than an experienced and honest instructor to start one on the path of these easily learned exercises whose deceptively simple appearance hides an enormous potential for healing and physical and spiritual self improvement.

And while on the subject, the best Qigong of all, as suggested by Roger Jahnke in the above mentioned book, is Free-Flow Qigong which is performed in a completely spontaneous and intuitive manner.

Best wishes, Sidney Rosenberg

Andrew

Posted on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 11:27:

Sidney, just an ignorant question... how much time does it take to exercise a routine set of Qigong movements? Does it have a similar benefit to Taichi? Is it easier or harder to master than Taichi?

I suppose the answer to your first question on “how much time does it take to exercise a routine set of Qi-Gong movement” is, how long is a piece of string. Any time you spend practicing Qi-Gong, from ten minutes to an hour or more, should be beneficial and fun if practiced without strain and tension and a deal of common sense. We have a small group in the village where I live that practices Qi-Gong and Tai-Chi for about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half each morning. I sometimes do additional practice and Qi-Gong meditations in the evenings. The exercises we do include Q-Gong warm-ups, various Qi-Gong exercises which cover the joints, Qi-Gong exercises (the Animals and sometimes the Brocades) that work on different meridians, walking Q-Gong (Tai-Chi), Yi Chuan (standing meditation) and we finish off with a Tai-Chi form practiced in parts and in its length.

Tai Chi and Qi-Gong practiced for their health benefits are not competitive or art forms that you “have” to “master”. Everybody works at their own individual level of competence and depth of meditation and like the plant you put out in the garden to grow; it’s not worthwhile examining the roots every other day to find out how one is growing. Innocence and acceptance are major parts these practices. These two forms of exercise are identical in that the three Intentful corrections are part of their practice i.e. 1. Adjust and regulated the body. 2. Adjust and regulate the breath. 3. Adjust and regulate the consciousness.

The Qi-gong exercises are deceptively simple to understand and take no great physical effort to enter in to. Tai Chi forms, on the other hand, progress relatively slowly but offer benefits all along the way. When practiced regularly for some period of time, it is as if the body takes over and performs the movements without a conscious effort being made on behalf of the individual’s mind.

Some folk are happy to stay with the Qi-Gong. But be warned, the practice of Qi-Gong can become addictive and you may well want more and to progress to a Tai Chi form. And then again, Tai Chi can be considered as an elongated Qi-Gong exercise in itself.

I hope that the above is of some help. Oh, yes, start of with a “good” instructor to point out the way.